Posted in Wellness

When we think about this day we always think about the special person in our life, a friend we want to catch up with, family who we love so much! We think about what little presents or sweet treats to get them, what is going to make THEM happy on a day full of love.

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Hey babes! SO I realize that I’ve posted some recipes on my Instagram {@BlissfullyLively} that needed a special home on the blog! I want these to be available for you to reference when you’re looking for drool-worthy, BL-friendly recipes {plenty of satiating protein, good fats & fiber!}. Also, these are all fantastic dishes to meal prep ahead of time for my BL babes who are short on time.

Tortellini & Chicken Bean Soup

I am kind of becoming a soup cooking professional these days. They are the easiest recipes, so hard to mess up & can be rough chopped for quick assembly!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

5-6 carrots, chopped

5-6 celery stalks, chopped

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 tbsp. butter

92 oz. (3 cartons) organic free-range chicken broth

1 tbsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. dried thyme

3 bay leaves

2 organic chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

1 package cheese tortellini

2 cans cannelini beans, drained & rinsed

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop onion & garlic, add to large pot with EVOO on medium high heat. Saute for 3-5 minutes until browned.
2. Rough chop all veggies. Set kale aside. Add the rest of the veggies to the pot.
3. Stir in butter & sauté for 5-8 minutes until carrots & celery are soft.
4. Add in chicken broth & spices. Stir to combine.
5. Let simmer until boiling & turn down to low to simmer for 20 minutes.
6. While this is cooking, add chicken to pot & cover with water. Put on high heat until boiling & then turn down to low & simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Shred chicken & add to pot.
8. Add in tortellini, kale & beans. Mix well and add salt & pepper as desired!

Balsamic Caprese Chicken

One of my FAVORITE dishes that I literally never get tired of. Pair it with some green veggies and whole grains on the side {roasted brussel sprouts and quinoa pictured below} and you’ve got yourself the perfect BL dinner!

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breasts

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 dash oregano

1 large tomato

1 tbsp. chopped basil

1 ball of mozzarella, 4 slices

1 tsp. balsamic reduction

Directions:

1. Put chicken breasts in ziplock bag with balsamic vinegar and let marinate overnight.
2. Take out and place on a plate.
3. Pre-heat grill to medium high.
4. Grill chicken breasts 5 minutes {-ish} on each side until cooked through the middle and golden.
5. Add the tomato, basil and mozzarella to the top of the chicken and turn the heat of the grill down to allow the cheese to melt.
6. Once the cheese has melted, transfer to plate & drizzle with balsamic reduction!

Chicken & Quinoa Taco Soup

My BL-twist on a classic. With quinoa and extra veggies this is sure to keep you full all the way to dinner! {Top with some avocado for a dose of healthy fat!}

Loaded Chicken Noodle & Kale Soup

Last but not least… you guys soups are so convenient, a complete meal in one, and reheat amazingly when made ahead of time. {Not to mention my favorite way to warm up from NH winters while I anxiously await warm springtime weather!} Packed with so many more veggies than traditional chicken noodle soup to give you an antioxidant boost!

I hope you babes enjoy these recipes! I also LOVE to share recipes that I am cooking in real-time on Instagram story so make sure you’re following there @BlissfullyLively. Stay tuned for part 2 where I’ll be showing you some of my favorite BL indulgences!

xo,

Lauren

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How many times have you come home absolutely STARVING? You open the fridge and there’s nothing that looks appealing, so you open the pantry. You go back and forth for a bit until you settle on something that is quick and easy {but might not be the healthiest option}. I know I am 100% guilty of this if I don’t plan ahead! This is exactly where meal prep comes in handy – to make your life easier while also helping you stick to your goals.

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Hey Babes! Can you believe Christmas is THIS month?! I know this time of year can be stressful/ difficult & the holidays aren’t always joyful and merry so I thought I would bring back the Wellness Spotlight posts to lift our spirits even more! It’s important to remember that there are things that YOU can do that will help “make the season bright”. Hello, do I not talk about you having control over your life 24/7 so this post fits perfectly. Here are some great articles that I came across this week. From massages and showering to laughing and giving yourself a break, there is something here for every one of you. I truly want all of you to have the best December possible, so give these a read & let me know your favs.

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If any of you know my life story it is truly unconventional, so unconventional I sometimes trim it down, & sum it up into a short sentence or two leaving out all the parts of “sob storiness” or “poor you” because I never want to dwell. I honestly am a person that looks at life as glass half full so trudging back into those sad or unfortunate times in my life seems to me as negativity that ‘s unnecessary. What I have come to realize recently is our stories good and bad make us who we are & when we start accepting them and sharing them it allows other people to accept theirs too!

We all have a background a life thats lead us to the happy, thriving, successful people we have become & as much as we think others lives are perfect, theirs are this way too. NO ONE is perfect, NO ONE has it all figured out…News Flash, not even OPRAH {ugh do you guys not love her…JUST BE MY MENTOR ALREADY.} So I want to take you back to my hometown and show you bits & pieces of how it’s shaped me & my story. If one person can feel less alone, different or troubled through this sharing, my job here is done.

3 Ways Your Hometown Shapes Who You Are

1. It’s the place that “houses” your home {or 4 for me}

Our home, our sanctuary, the place you always know you can go to find comfort & chill while Mom cooks up some dinner. The same place that houses all your childhood memories of opening Christmas presents, getting your first kittens & being dragged behind a bike on roller skates requiring stitches {whoops is that not in your memories, cause it’s in mine LOL}. Our hometown houses our #1 support system, the walls, floors, bedrooms & material things that shaped us. For me this wasn’t as conventional. My home was the beautiful photo above for 6 years of my life, pretty kick ass if I do say so myself then a small apartment, another home & finally a condo. All within the same town, but many different places that had me feeling like a gipsy and realizing that home doesn’t need to be a PLACE. As much as we associate “home” with a physical house, it doesn’t need to be the stereotypical rooms where we grew up, It can & for me always will be family. Home to me is my loved ones, the sense of belonging and pure happiness I feel when spending time with my little sister, the little cutie that I dressed up & dragged around as my side kick & now get to see grow up into the funny and beautiful young women she is. Home to me is taking those memories with me but not attaching them to the four walls of your stereotypical “home”.

2. It’s where some have their first heartbreak & {forever} love

For me heartbreak here is something much less trivial than first boyfriend or fling in high school but a true family divide that has in more ways that one shaped my whole life. 12 years old & being told that your parents are divorcing is pretty tough. I can remember the clothes I was wearing, the whole bus ride to school {what parent’s tell their kids they’re divorcing before they head out to school?, but that’s a whole other post}, the real promise that we would “stay a family”. This heartbreak was one that took many years of figuring out, releasing & working through. It spiraled my mom into single mom status and an intense next few years of trying to find her footing which really never came & resulted in nights of no heat, electricity or cable oh & food stamps. Heartbreak is real & in whatever way you have experienced it {a death in the family, a divorce, a traumatic experience} it is all housed right in that little home town of yours. This heartbreak and hardship created a new life for myself that actually created some good. A few years later, a few moves later & I was finally a high schooler being introduced to a cute guy at my new house for a double date…In walks Chris & the rest is LITERALLY history. Isn’t it crazy how the same place the same geographic location that could house so much heartbreak could also bring with it an intense and forever LOVE?

3. It’s where some learn independence & perseverance

The whole parents divorcing and Mom becoming a single mom really threw me into independence without a choice & looking back I am so incredibly thankful for this experience. I had to make decisions on my own, work for what I wanted, wasn’t handed anything and truly began to understand the meaning of hard work the moment I turned 16. There was lots of crying, & “Why me’s”. Why can’t I just have what they have, why can’t my Mom just give me money like my friends. The life that I lived instilled a work ethic in me that I wouldn’t trade for the world. SO to all your ladies out there that had it similar I see you, I hear you & I understand you! These experiences have made us who we are and don’t second guess, want to change or make better for one second. Relish in the fact that you’re a self made person that has gone through tough stuff to be here today & you’re better off for it.

What I want for you is to live life THIS happy knowing that your past, your hometown, your experience have shaped you NOT dictated your life. You have always been and always will be in control of you & your future is so incredibly bright if you allow yourself to see past the dark spots of the past.

I am so humbled and touched when I hear others life stories that put into perspective how good we DO & CAN have it. Please share them with me through email lauren@blissfullylively.com, Instagram DM or contact here on BL.com.

Also I’m sure you guys are going to ask but this stunning 14k gold & diamond NH necklace makes the perfect thoughtful Holiday gift with your diamond placed in the hometown of whoever you’re gifting this too. It is one of my most cherished pieces & can be found at Bellmans Jewelers or by using this link.

xo,

Lauren

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How are you guys? Holy smokes its been a minute since I have posted. A lot has been going on for BL lately… new clients {so pumped}, teaching more fitness classes & creating a nutrition program from scratch!! All the while trying to create an online nutrition program at a lower price point, keep up with blog posts & put out weekly newsletters…WOAH. my brain hurts just typing that…but we’re doin’ it!

Yes you read that right an in person nutrition program from scratch…

As with anything I was a bit scared to take on such a huge task but I couldn’t be more excited to finally be able to talk about this completed program!

I partnered with Seacoast Sports Clubs a local gym in the Portsmouth, NH area to create a 10 week nutrition & healthy lifestyle program. The basis of the program is to give you the knowledge to meet your wellness goals.

Those goals can be losing weight, eating healthier, moving more, whatever you see you need a little help with to live your healthiest and happiest life.

The program meets every Tuesday night for 10 weeks starting October 17th {at the SSC West End location} from 5:30-7pm. The first 40 minutes of our group meeting consists of nutrition & healthy lifestyle topics such as Portion sizes, nutrient dense meals, eating for satiety, cutting out sugar, etc. & the last 50 minutes is a workout of the week which changes each week to help you find what works best for you. Some examples are cardio, strength training, yoga, boxing.

But now you’re thinking…

Lauren, I’m not a member of SSC!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE! This program is offered to member and non members of the gym!

The point of the program is to give you all the knowledge & tools so that at the end of the 10 weeks you can implement them sustainably into your own life!

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In the BL Virtual Book Club on FB we have been talking about “our mean girl” the little voice inside our head that makes us question and look down upon ourselves every move we make. Do these sound familiar?

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Meditate/ noun: to think or focus deeply ones mind for a period of time, in silence or with music as a method of relaxation.

Doesn’t that just sound damn peaceful? I give you the definition because many times we think of things that are outside our scope of practice as off limits, too hard to start, or just plain weird {negative, etc.}. But in all honestly it isn’t.

It’s what we make it out to be. People see meditation as “made for religious people”, “too woo-woo”, “too time consuming”, “too hard to get in to”, ETC. Only because we for one don’t want to try things that scare us or require time & energy.

& I want to bring you guys wellness tools that I find to work for myself in a digestible way to YOU, so you too can reap the benefits.

I want to change the way we look at some of the more “scary” or “negatively thought about” wellness topics such as meditation, crystals, cupping, ETC. & show you how to do them easily and comfortably in your own home, or with minimal work.

I want to call this new section “The Everyday Girl”: outside of the box wellness tools SIMPLIFIED for all of you every day babes that read.

First up, meditation!

I started meditation about a year ago now, and it has become a staple in my morning routine. Just like my mindfulness, I can’t start my day without it. It sets the tone for my day like nothing else i’ve tried, not even a workout, honestly.

Sitting with yourself & getting real with your thoughts…setting an intention is so powerful.

At first when I started I didn’t really know where to begin, so I used Gabby Bernsteins recorded meditations to start. I got more comfortable & then just started playing music & focusing on my breathing each morning for 10 minutes. I would breath in & breath out slowly, allowing my mind to stop thinking for just 10 minutes. I would think up an intention for myself or my day such as “bring love to each experience today” and try to calm my mind.

During this meditation is when I came up with the idea for this post or section of the blog. When I realized that I too was one of those people who honestly thought meditation was too “spiritual, too religious” for me {side note: nothing against people who are religious or spiritual, it just isn’t my thing, you know}. It was too woo-woo, or out there.

This is when I realized that I want to break down those walls, those barriers for people to experience some of the things they think are out of their comfort zone in an easy and non intimidating way!

How to meditate

sit on the floor {or a pillow} in criss cross position with your hands on your knees and your palms facing upward.

Think of your head as extending into the sky, pulling yourself up into proper, natural alignment.

Allow thoughts to come in, be aware of them & then release them, always going back to this blank or scenic state.

sit as long as you wish.

You guys will be blown away by the benefits of meditation & I think it’s something that’s truly one of the most beneficial practices I have added into my daily routine!

If you’re one of the BL Newsletter Subscribers then you are going to be getting something extra special & exclusive in your inbox. The first ever BL Meditation Practice. An audio recording of me walking you through your meditation practice one calming step at a time! <3

xo,

Lauren

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You guys know my love for making wellness more than just some trendy topic. I love really promoting self care, mindfulness, eating whole foods & moving your body in whatever way that feels good for you. Hello, the 3 pillars of BL {mindfulness, fitness & nutrition}.